Earth, Body, Core with the Philadelphia Orchestra
October 2021, through The Philadelphia Orchestra’s program “Our City, Your Orchestra” at Asian Arts Initiative
Artist Statement
When Philadelphia Orchestra members asked to collaborate on a song at Asian Arts Initiative, I decided to build a piece that connected my classical music education with my Asian American identity.
Earth, Body, Core concurrently offers commentary on the Euro-centric, colonial mindset of opera Madama Butterfly while depicting aspects of metamorphosis that (Asian American) immigrants face in order to survive in a new country.
Earth, Body, Core acknowledges that while an immigrant’s story is about transformation and adaptation for survival, part of our survivance also demands a remembrance of where we came.
Medicine Meditation with Severin Blake
June 2021, Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists 2021 Festival
Written and Performed by Severin Blake aka Anita Holland
Sound Design by Marina Murayama
Artist Statement (from Severin Blake)
This contribution came from my deep need for healing justice and more visibility of Black BIPOC voices in the world. We felt called to be engaged with our emotions and bodies as we grow beyond the outdated limitations of the manifest destiny and into a space that allows the earth and all its creatures are free. For now, get comfy, grab some headphones, touch softness and don't forget to breathe.
Listen to and watch Medicine Meditation here
imprint, ember, hearth
November, 2019, Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists Residency Program
Artist Statement
imprint, ember, hearth is an exploration of the Okinawan Kamiuta, a ceremonious song that celebrates sacred spaces on the islands. The project manifested as a series of music and sound collages; assembled with samples of elders singing the songs, orchestral loops, and electronic manipulation devices.
Philadelphia Asian Histories: Living Museum
November, 2019, Asian Arts Initiative
A team of eight performing artists from varying creative backgrounds devised and cultivated individual performances each featuring a difference moment in our city’s history. The pieces were mounted in Asian Arts Initiative, transforming the facility into a living museum activating the entire building with performance installations featuring music, theatre, dance, visual art, and interactive performance art. Audience members experienced The Living Museum by freely walking the space.
Song Contributions (On the Redress Movement of Japanese Americans post-internment):
The Lion Heart of William Marutani
Philadelphia Hostel
American Challenge
growth to come
June 2019
Compiled, composed, and arranged by mille, murayama, and amy jean
Artist Statement
growth to come is a meditative collage of soundscapes, movement videos, and conversation about self-knowledge, plants, connection, and care. The piece is accompanied with tea created by Chanelle Bergeron of mille and moon by moon apothecary, and video collages of movement by Amy Jean and her dear friend Leah, on a family farm in Costa Rica.
The heart of this collaboration was our mutual desire to cultivate a communal experience around human connection and care. The zine Our Plants by Amy Jean and Ailbhe Pascal (of Fikira Bakery) helped guide our initial questions, eventually inspiring us to come up with more questions about what it means to be a living, growing being on this planet.
We invite you to join us for some tea and a moment to reflect with us while listening to and watching growth to come.